Episode 35: Randall—Finding Purpose, Sponsorship, and Sobriety That Lasts

Randall has just over four years sober—but it took a long road, eight or nine treatment centers, and countless false starts to get here. For years, he would make it close to a year sober, talking the talk but never really walking the walk, only to relapse and leave wreckage behind. This time, things are different.

Today, Randall isn’t loud about his sobriety. In fact, he’s quiet—because it’s no longer about words, it’s about actions. He says sobriety has become sacred, something people can see in his life rather than something he needs to shout about. And the biggest difference? Service. For the first time, he’s sponsoring other men, walking them through the twelve steps, and finding purpose in being the “cool dad” who leads with love instead of shame or guilt.

Randall opens up about mourning the chaos of his addiction, about the deep ties between meth and sex in gay culture, and how even in sobriety the pull of old behaviors can resurface in unexpected ways. He shares the raw story of a moment at one year sober when he found himself doing something he swore he’d never do again—because recovery isn’t about perfection, it’s about continuing to grow.

What changed everything was finding a sponsor he could truly trust—someone who had used the way he had, even sat in jail with him, but who also had a life worth chasing on the other side. That trust gave Randall the willingness to follow suggestions, and in turn, to give his sponsor “grandkids.” Today, he calls his sponsees the greatest gift of his life.

🎧 Listen in for a conversation that’s honest, gritty, and full of hard-earned wisdom about what it really takes to go from talking about recovery to living it.